Multiradio management through quality level control

Abstract

A system for managing the operation of a plurality of radio modules integrated within the same wireless communication device. In at least one embodiment of the present invention, a control strategy may be employed to regulate the quality level of a signal delivered by a codec in order to balance the performance realized in the reproduction certain signals with overall communication stability in the wireless communication device. The regulation of signal quality level may be affected by reducing the bit rate of a codec, changing the codec to select another codec with a lower bit rate, or by performing bitrate scaling with the codec signal.

1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving one or more indications of a change in activity for an interfering wireless communication medium utilized by a radio module operating in a wireless communication device;   determining whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predetermined threshold level; and   if the change in activity meets the predetermined threshold level, instructing modifications to a codec being utilized by the radio module.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predefined threshold level includes determining if the utilization rate of physical layer components by the interfering wireless communication medium exceeds a predetermined utilization level. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the codec is at least one of an audio codec or a video codec. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein instructing modifications to a codec includes changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec includes at least one of changing the bit rate of the codec or changing to another codec with a different bit rate. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec includes segmenting audio message packets into smaller sized audio packets and discarding any non-essential audio message packets. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec includes a determination of priority between all interfering radio modules in order to determine how to change the quality level of the codec. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the quality level produced by a codec supporting a low priority radio module is reduced in order to provide additional resources for a high priority radio module. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the quality level produced by a codec supporting a high priority radio module is reduced in order to provide additional resources for other radio modules in the wireless communication device. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least the threshold level is set by a multiradio controller that manages the operation of a plurality of radio modules in the wireless communication device. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising receiving, from the multiradio controller, an operational schedule including at least one period of time when a radio module is allowed to communicate. 
   
   
       12 . A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied in said medium, comprising:
 a computer readable program code for receiving one or more indications of a change in activity for an interfering wireless communication medium utilized by a radio module operating in a wireless communication device;   a computer readable program code for determining whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predetermined threshold level; and   a computer readable program code for, if the change in activity meets the predetermined threshold level, instructing modifications to a codec being utilized by the radio module.   
   
   
       13 . The computer program product of  claim 12 , wherein determining whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predefined threshold level includes determining if the utilization rate of physical layer components by the interfering wireless communication medium exceeds a predetermined utilization level. 
   
   
       14 . The computer program product of  claim 12 , wherein the codec is at least one of an audio codec or a video codec. 
   
   
       15 . The computer program product of  claim 12 , wherein instructing modifications to a codec includes changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec. 
   
   
       16 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec includes at least one of changing the bit rate of the codec or changing to another codec with a different bit rate. 
   
   
       17 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec includes segmenting audio message packets into smaller sized audio packets and discarding any non-essential audio message packets. 
   
   
       18 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec includes a determination of priority between all interfering radio modules in order to determine how to change the quality level of the codec. 
   
   
       19 . The computer program product of  claim 18 , wherein the quality level produced by a codec supporting a low priority radio module is reduced in order to provide additional resources for a high priority radio module. 
   
   
       20 . The computer program product of  claim 18 , wherein the quality level produced by a codec supporting a high priority radio module is reduced in order to provide additional resources for other radio modules in the wireless communication device. 
   
   
       21 . The computer program product of  claim 12 , wherein at least the threshold level is set by a multiradio controller that manages the operation of a plurality of radio modules in the wireless communication device. 
   
   
       22 . The computer program product of  claim 21 , further comprising receiving, from the multiradio controller, an operational schedule including at least one period of time when a radio module is allowed to communicate. 
   
   
       23 . A device comprising:
 one or more radio modules; and   at least one multiradio controller coupled to the one or more radio modules;   wherein the device is configured to:   receive one or more indications of a change in activity for an interfering wireless communication medium utilized by the one or more radio modules operating in a wireless communication device;   determine whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predetermined threshold level; and   if the change in activity meets the predetermined threshold level, instruct modifications to a codec being utilized by the one or more radio modules.   
   
   
       24 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein the interfering wireless communication medium is one of a plurality of wireless communication mediums utilized by a multimode radio module. 
   
   
       25 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein a plurality of wireless communication mediums are utilized by radio modules which share hardware resources in the wireless communication device including at least an antenna. 
   
   
       26 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein determining whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predefined threshold level includes determining if the utilization rate of physical layer components by the interfering wireless communication medium exceeds a predetermined utilization level. 
   
   
       27 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein the codec is at least one of an audio codec or a video codec. 
   
   
       28 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein instructing modifications to a codec includes changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec. 
   
   
       29 . The device of  claim 28 , wherein changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec includes at least one of changing the bit rate of the codec or changing to another codec with a different bit rate. 
   
   
       30 . The device of  claim 28 , wherein changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec includes segmenting audio message packets into smaller sized audio packets and discarding any non-essential audio message packets. 
   
   
       31 . The device of  claim 28 , wherein changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec includes a determination of priority between all interfering radio modules in order to determine how to change the quality level of the codec. 
   
   
       32 . The device of  claim 31 , wherein the quality level produced by a codec supporting a low priority radio module is reduced in order to provide additional resources for a high priority radio module. 
   
   
       33 . The device of  claim 31 , wherein the quality level produced by a codec supporting a high priority radio module is reduced in order to provide additional resources for other radio modules in the wireless communication device. 
   
   
       34 . The device of  claim 23 , wherein at least the threshold level is set by a multiradio controller that manages the operation of a plurality of radio modules in the wireless communication device. 
   
   
       35 . The device of  claim 34 , further comprising receiving, from the multiradio controller, an operational schedule including at least one period of time when a radio module is allowed to communicate. 
   
   
       36 . A device, comprising:
 means for receiving one or more indications of a change in activity for an interfering wireless communication medium utilized by a radio module operating in a wireless communication device;   means for determining whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predetermined threshold level; and   means for, if the change in activity meets the predetermined threshold level, instructing modifications to a codec being utilized by a radio module.   
   
   
       37 . A radio module, comprising:
 a radio modem; and   a local controller coupled to the radio modem, the local controller configured to:   receive one or more indications of a change in activity for an interfering wireless communication medium utilized by a radio module operating in a wireless communication device;   determine whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predetermined threshold level; and   if the change in activity meets the predetermined threshold level, instruct modifications to a codec being utilized by the radio module.   
   
   
       38 . The radio module of  claim 37 , wherein determining whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predefined threshold level includes determining if the utilization rate of physical layer components by the interfering wireless communication medium exceeds a predetermined utilization level. 
   
   
       39 . The radio module of  claim 37 , wherein the codec is at least one of an audio codec or a video codec. 
   
   
       40 . The radio module of  claim 37 , further comprising receiving, from a multiradio controller, an operational schedule including at least one period of time when the radio module is allowed to communicate. 
   
   
       41 . A system, comprising:
 a wireless communication device, the wireless communication device including at least:   one or more radio modules utilizing a plurality of wireless communication mediums;   at least one of the one or more radio modules receiving one or more indications of a change in activity for an interfering wireless communication medium utilized by another radio module operating in a wireless communication device;   the at least one radio module determining whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predetermined threshold level; and   the at least one radio module, if the change in activity meets the predetermined threshold level, instructing modifications to a codec being utilized by the at least one radio module.   
   
   
       42 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, from a multiradio controller, an operational schedule including at least one period of time when a radio module is allowed to communicate;   receiving one or more indications of a change in activity for an interfering wireless communication medium utilized by a radio module operating in a wireless communication device;   determining whether the change in activity of the interfering wireless communication medium meets a predetermined threshold level;   determining if the interfering wireless communication medium is allowed to communicate and has priority in view of the operational schedule information; and   if the change in activity meets the predetermined threshold level, the interfering wireless communication medium is allowed to communicate and has priority, instructing modifications to a codec being utilized by the radio module.   
   
   
       43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein instructing modifications to the codec includes changing the quality level of a signal produced by the codec. 
   
   
       44 . A radio module comprising:
 one or more antennas;   two or more radio modems, wherein the two or more radio modems are coupled with the one or more antennas; and   a controller, wherein the controller is configured to:
 receive an operational schedule including at least one period of time when the radio module is allowed to communicate; 
 provide a schedule for utilization of wireless communication mediums for the two or more radio modems based on at least the received operational schedule; 
 receive one or more indications of a change in operational conditions for utilization of the wireless communication medium by one or more of said two or more radio modules; 
 determine whether the change in operational conditions for utilization of the wireless communication medium by one or more of said two or more radio modules meets a predetermined threshold level; and 
 if the change in operational conditions meets a predetermined threshold level, instruct modifications to a codec being utilized by one or more of said two or more radio modules. 
   
   
   
       45 . The radio module of  claim 44 , wherein determining whether the change in operational conditions for utilization of the wireless communication medium by one or more of said two or more radio modules meets a predetermined threshold level includes determining if one or more of said two or more radio modules requires more time than scheduled for utilization of the wireless communication medium.